in his pocket, leaving the other half on the table. On the floor hesaw a pair of gold-embroidered slippers, and one of these he alsoput in his pocket. After that he went back to the hall, and tookdown the horn again. 'Perhaps I have to drink all that is in it beforeI can move the sword,' he thought; so he put it to his lips again anddrank till it was quite empty. When he had done this, he couldwield the sword with the greatest of ease, and felt himself strongenough to do anything, even to fight the giants he had left outside,who were no doubt wondering why he had not opened the gate tothem before this time. To kill the giants, he thought, would beusing the sword for the right; but as to winning the love of theprincess, that was a thing which the son of a poor sheep-farmerneed not hope for.

When Niels came to the gate of the castle, he found that there wasa large door and a small one, so he opened the latter.

'Can't you open the big door?' said the giants; 'we shall hardly beable to get in at this one.'

'The bars are too heavy for me to draw,' said Niels; 'if you stoop alittle you can quite well come in here.' The first giant accordinglybent down and entered in a stooping posture, but before he hadtime to straighten his back again Niels made a sweep with thesword, and oft went the giant's head. To push the body aside as itfell was quite easy for Niels, so strong had the wine made him, andthe second giant as he entered met the same reception. The thirdwas slower in coming, so Niels called out to him: 'Be quick,' hesaid, 'you are surely the oldest of the three, since you are so slow inyour movements, but I can't wait here long; I must get back to myown people as soon as possible.' So the third also came in, and wasserved in the same way. It appears from the story that giants werenot given fair play!

By this time day was beginning to break, and Niels thought that hisfolks might already be searching for him, so, instead of waiting tosee what took place at the castle, he ran off to the forest as fast ashe could, taking the sword with him. He found the others stillasleep, so he woke them up, and they again set out on their journey. Of the night's adventures he said not a word, and when they askedwhere he got the sword, he only pointed in the direction of thecastle, and said, 'Over that way.' They thought he had found it, andasked no more questions.

When Niels left the castle, he shut the door behind him, and itclosed with such a bang that the porter woke up. He could scarcelybelieve his eyes when he saw the three headless giants lying in aheap in the courtyard, and could not imagine what had taken place. The whole castle was soon aroused, and then everybody wonderedat the affair: it was soon seen that the bodies were those of theking's great enemies, but how they came to be there and in thatcondition was a perfect mystery. Then it was noticed that thedrinking-horn was empty and the sword gone, while the princessreported that half of her handkerchief and one of her slippers hadbeen taken away. How the giants had been killed seemed a littleclearer now, but who had done it was as great a puzzle as before. The old knight who had charge of the castle said that in his opinionit must have been some young knight, who had immediately set offto the king to claim the hand of the princess. This sounded likely,but the messenger who was sent to the Court returned with thenews that no one there knew anything about the matter.

'We must find him, however,' said the princess; 'for if he is willingto marry me I cannot in honour refuse him, after what my father puton the horn.' She took council with her father's wisest men as towhat ought to be done, and among other things they advised her tobuild a house beside the highway, and put over the door thisinscription:--'Whoever will tell the story of his life, may stay herethree nights for nothing.' This was done, and many strange taleswere told to the princess, but none of the travellers said a wordabout the three giants.

In the meantime Niels and the others tramped on towards Rome. Autumn passed, and winter was just beginning when they came tothe foot of a great range of mountains, towering up to the sky. 'Must we go over these?' said they. 'We shall be frozen to death orburied in the snow.'

'Here comes a man,' said Niels; 'let us ask him the way to Rome.' They did so, and were told that there was no other way.

'And is it far yet?' said the old people, who were beginning to beworn out by the long journey. The man held up his foot so thatthey could see the sole of his shoe; it was worn as thin as paper,and there was a hole in the middle of it.

'These shoes were quite new when I left Rome,' he said, 'and lookat them now; that will tell you whether you are far from it or not.'

This discouraged the old people so much that they gave up allthought of finishing the journey, and only wished to get back toDenmark as quickly as they could. What with the winter and badroads they took longer to return than they had taken to go, but inthe end they found themselves in sight of the forest where they hadslept before.

'What's this?' said Rasmus. 'Here's a big house built since wepassed this way before.'

'So it is,' said Peter; 'let's stay all night in it.'

'No, we can't afford that,' said the old people; 'it will be too dear forthe like of us.'

However, when they saw what was written above the door, theywere all well pleased to get a night's lodging for nothing. Theywere well received, and had so much attention given to them, thatthe old people were quite put out by it. After they had got time torest themselves, the princess's steward came to hear their story.

'You saw what was written above the door,' he said to the father. 'Tell me who you are and what your history has been.'

'Dear me, I have nothing of any importance to tell you,' said the oldman, 'and I am sure we should never have made so bold as totrouble you at all if it hadn't been for the youngest of our two sonshere.'

'Never mind that,' said the steward; ' you are very welcome if youwill only tell me the story of your life.'

'Well, well, I will,' said he, 'but there is nothing to tell about it. Iand my wife have lived all our days on a moor in North Jutland,until this last year, when she took a fancy to go to Rome. We setout with our two sons but turned back long before we got there,and are now on our way home again. That's all my own story, andour two sons have lived with us all their days, so there is nothingmore to be told about them either.'

'Yes there is,' said Rasmus; 'when we were on our way south, weslept in the wood near here one night, and I shot a stag.'

The steward was so much accustomed to hearing stories of noimportance that he thought there was no use going further withthis, but reported to the princess that the newcomers had nothing totell.

'Did you question them all?' she said.

'Well, no; not directly,' said he; 'but the father said that none ofthem could tell me any more than he had done.'

Niels knew the princess again as soon as she entered the room, andwas greatly alarmed, for he immediately supposed that all this was adevice to discover the person who had run away with the sword,the slipper and the half of the handkerchief, and that it would farebadly with him if he were discovered. So he told his story much thesame as the others did (Niels was not very particular), and thoughthe had escaped all further trouble, when Rasmus put in his word. 'You've forgotten something, Niels,' he said; 'you remember youfound a sword near here that night I shot the stag.'

'Where is the sword?' said the princess.

'I know,' said the steward, 'I saw where he laid it down when theycame in;' and off he went to fetch it, while Niels wondered whetherhe could make his escape in the meantime. Before he had made uphis mind, however, the steward was back with the sword, which theprincess recognised at once.

'Where did you get this?' she said to Niels.

Niels was silent, and wondered what the usual penalty was for apoor sheep-farmer's son who was so unfortunate as to deliver aprincess and carry off things from her bed-room.

'See what else he has about him,' said the princess to the steward,and Niels had to submit to be searched: out of one pocket came agold-embroidered slipper, and out of another the half of agold-hemmed handkerchief.

'That is enough,' said the princess; 'now we needn't ask any morequestions. Send for my father the king at once.'

'Please let me go,' said Niels; 'I did you as much good as harm, atany rate.'

'Why, who said anything about doing harm?' said the princess. 'You must stay here till my father comes.'

The way in which the princess smiled when she said this gave Nielssome hope that things might not be bad for him after all, and he wasyet more encouraged when he thought of the words engraver on thehorn, though the last line still seemed too good to be true. However, the arrival of the king soon settled the matter: theprincess was willing and so was Niels, and in a few days thewedding bells were ringing. Niels was made an earl by that time,and looked as handsome as any of them when dressed in all hisrobes. Before long the old king died, and Niels reigned after him;but whether his father and mother stayed with him, or went back tothe moor in Jutland, or were sent to Rome in a carriage and four, issomething that all the historians of his reign have forgotten tomention.

Shepherd Paul

Once upon a time a shepherd was taking his flock out to pasture,when he found a little baby lying in a meadow, left there by somewicked person, who thought it was too much trouble to look afterit. The shepherd was fond of children, so he took the baby homewith him and gave it plenty of milk, and by the time the boy wasfourteen he could tear up oaks as if they were weeds. Then Paul, asthe shepherd had called him, grew tired of living at home, and wentout into the world to try his luck.

He walked on for many miles, seeing nothing that surprised him,but in an open space of the wood he was astonished at finding aman combing trees as another man would comb flax.

'Good morning, friend,' said Paul; 'upon my word, you must be astrong man!'

The man stopped his work and laughed. 'I am Tree Comber,' heanswered proudly; 'and the greatest wish of my life is to wrestlewith Shepherd Paul.'

'May all your wishes be fulfilled as easily, for I am Shepherd Paul,and can wrestle with you at once,' replied the lad; and he seizedTree Comber and flung him with such force to the ground that hesank up to his knees in the earth. However, in a moment he was upagain, and catching hold of Paul, threw him so that he sank up tohis waist; but then it was Paul's turn again, and this time the manwas buried up to his neck. 'That is enough,' cried he; 'I see you area smart fellow, let us become friends.'

'Very good,' answered Paul, and they continued their journeytogether.

By-and-by they reached a man who was grinding stones to powderin his hands, as if they had been nuts.

'Good morning,' said Paul politely; 'upon my word, you must be astrong fellow!'

'I am Stone Crusher,' answered the man, and the greatest wish ofmy life is to wrestle with Shepherd Paul.'

'May all your wishes be as easily fulfilled, for I am Shepherd Paul,and will wrestle with you at once,' and the sport began. After ashort time the man declared himself beaten, and begged leave to gowith them; so they all three travelled together.

A little further on they came upon a man who was kneading iron asif it had been dough. 'Good morning,' said Paul, 'you must be astrong fellow.'

'I am Iron Kneader, and should like to fight Shepherd Paul,'answered he.

'Let us begin at once then,' replied Paul; and on this occasion also,Paul got the better of his foe, and they all four continued theirjourney.

At midday they entered a forest, and Paul stopped suddenly. 'Wethree will go and look for game,' he said, 'and you, Tree Comber,will stay behind and prepare a good supper for us.' So TreeComber set to work to boil and roast, and when dinner was nearlyready, a little dwarf with a pointed beard strolled up to the place. 'What are you cooking?' asked he, 'give me some of it.'

'I'll give you some on your back, if you like,' answered TreeComber rudely. The dwarf took no notice, but waited patiently tillthe dinner was cooked, then suddenly throwing Tree Comber onthe ground, he ate up the contents of the saucepan and vanished. Tree Comber felt rather ashamed of himself, and set about boilingsome more vegetables, but they were still very hard when thehunters returned, and though they complained of his bad cooking,he did not tell them about the dwarf.

Next day Stone Crusher was left behind, and after him IronKneader, and each time the dwarf appeared, and they fared nobetter than Tree Comber had done. The fourth day Paul said tothem: 'My friends, there must be some reason why your cookinghas always been so bad, now you shall go and hunt and I will staybehind.' So they went off, amusing themselves by thinking whatwas in store for Paul.

He set to work at once, and had just got all his vegetablessimmering in the pot when the dwarf appeared as before, and askedto have some of the stew. 'Be off,' cried Paul, snatching up thesaucepan as he spoke. The dwarf tried to get hold of his collar, butPaul seized him by the beard, and tied him to a big tree so that hecould not stir, and went on quietly with his cooking. The hunterscame back early, longing to see how Paul had got on, and, to theirsurprise, dinner was quite ready for them.

'You are great useless creatures,' said he, 'who couldn't even outwitthat little dwarf. When we have finished supper I will show youwhat I have done with him!' But when they reached the placewhere Paul had left the dwarf, neither he nor the tree was to beseen, for the little fellow had pulled it up by the roots and run away,dragging it after him. The four friends followed the track of thetree and found that it ended in a deep hole. 'He must have gonedown here,' said Paul, 'and I will go after him. See! there is abasket that will do for me to sit in, and a cord to lower me with. But when I pull the cord again, lose no time in drawing the basketup.'

And he stepped into the basket, which was lowered by his friends.

At last it touched the ground and he jumped out and looked abouthim. He was in a beautiful valley, full of meadows and streams,with a splendid castle standing by. As the door was open hewalked in, but a lovely maiden met him and implored him to goback, for the owner of the castle was a dragon with six heads, whohad stolen her from her home and brought her down to thisunderground spot. But Paul refused to listen to all her entreaties,and declared that he was not afraid of the dragon, and did not carehow many heads he had; and he sat down calmly to wait for him.

In a little while the dragon came in, and all the long teeth in his sixheads chattered with anger at the sight of the stranger.

'I am Shepherd Paul,' said the young man, 'and I have come to fightyou, and as I am in a hurry we had better begin at once.'

'Very good,' answered the dragon. 'I am sure of my supper, but letus have a mouthful of something first, just to give us an appetite.'

Whereupon he began to eat some huge boulders as if they had beencakes, and when he had quite finished, he offered Paul one. Paulwas not fond of boulders, but he took a wooden knife and cut onein two, then he snatched up both halves in his hands and threw themwith all his strength at the dragon, so that two out of the six headswere smashed in. At this the dragon, with a mighty roar, rushedupon Paul, but he sprang on one side, and with a swinging blow cutoff two of the other heads. Then, seizing the monster by the neck,he dashed the remaining heads against the rock.

When the maiden heard that the dragon was dead, she thanked herdeliverer with tears in her eyes, but told him that her two youngersisters were in the power of dragons still fiercer and more horriblethan this one. He vowed that his sword should never rest in itssheath till they were set free, and bade the girl come with him, andshow him the way.

The maiden gladly consented to go with him, but first she gave hima golden rod, and bade him strike the castle with it. He did so, andit instantly changed into a golden apple, which he put in his pocket. After that, they started on their search.

They had not gone far before they reached the castle where thesecond girl was confined by the power of the dragon with twelveheads, who had stolen her from her home. She was overjoyed atthe sight of her sister and of Paul, and brought him a shirt belongingto the dragon, which made every one who wore it twice as strongas they were before. Scarcely had he put it on when the dragoncame back, and the fight began. Long and hard was the struggle,but Paul's sword and his shirt helped him, and the twelve heads laydead upon the ground.

Then Paul changed the castle into an apple, which he put into hispocket, and set out with the two girls in search of the third castle.

It was not long before they found it, and within the walls was thethird sister, who was younger and prettier than either of the othertwo. Her husband had eighteen heads, but when he quitted thelower regions for the surface of the earth, he left them all at homeexcept one, which he changed for the head of a little dwarf, with apointed beard.

The moment that Paul knew that this terrible dragon was no otherthan the dwarf whom he had tied to the tree, he longed more thanever to fly at his throat. But the thought of the eighteen headswarned him to be careful, and the third sister brought him a silkshirt which would make him ten times stronger than he was before.

He had scarcely put it on, when the whole castle began to shakeviolently, and the dragon flew up the steps into the hall.

'Well, my friend, so we meet once more! Have you forgotten me? I am Shepherd Paul, and I have come to wrestle with you, and tofree your wife from your clutches.'

'Ah, I am glad to see you again,' said the dragon. 'Those were mytwo brothers whom you killed, and now your blood shall pay forthem.' And he went into his room to look for his shirt and to drinksome magic wine, but the shirt was on Paul's back, and as for thewine, the girl had given a cupful to Paul and then had allowed therest to run out of the cask.

At this the dragon grew rather frightened, but in a moment hadrecollected his eighteen heads, and was bold again.

'Come on,' he cried, rearing himself up and preparing to dart all hisheads at once at Paul. But Paul jumped underneath, and gave anupward cut so that six of the heads went rolling down. They werethe best heads too, and very soon the other twelve lay beside them. Then Paul changed the castle into an apple, and put it in his pocket. Afterwards he and the three girls set off for the opening which ledupwards to the earth.

The basket was still there, dangling from the rope, but it was onlybig enough to hold the three girls, so Paul sent them up, and toldthem to be sure and let down the basket for him. Unluckily, at thesight of the maidens' beauty, so far beyond anything they had everseen, the friends forgot all about Paul, and carried the girls straightaway into a far country, so that they were not much better off thanbefore. Meanwhile Paul, mad with rage at the ingratitude of thethree sisters, vowed he would be revenged upon them, and setabout finding some way of getting back to earth. But it was notvery easy, and for months, and months, and months, he wanderedabout underground, and, at the end, seemed no nearer to fulfillinghis purpose than he was at the beginning.

At length, one day, he happened to pass the nest of a huge griffin,who had left her young ones all alone. Just as Paul came along acloud containing fire instead of rain burst overhead, and all the littlegriffins would certainly have been killed had not Paul spread hiscloak over the nest and saved them. When their father returned theyoung ones told him what Paul had done, and he lost no time inflying after Paul, and asking how he could reward him for hisgoodness.

'By carrying me up to the earth,' answered Paul; and the griffinagreed, but first went to get some food to eat on the way, as it wasa long journey.

'Now get on my back,' he said to Paul, 'and when I turn my head tothe right, cut a slice off the bullock that hangs on that side, and putit in my mouth, and when I turn my head to the left, draw a cupfulof wine from the cask that hangs on that side, and pour it down mythroat.'

For three days and three nights Paul and the griffin flew upwards,and on the fourth morning it touched the ground just outside thecity where Paul's friends had gone to live. Then Paul thanked himand bade him farewell, and he returned home again.

At first Paul was too tired to do anything but sleep, but as soon ashe was rested he started off in search of the three faithless ones,who almost died from fright at the sight of him, for they hadthought he would never come back to reproach them for theirwickedness.

'You know what to expect,' Paul said to them quietly. 'You shallnever see me again. Off with you!' He next took the three applesout of his pocket and placed them all in the prettiest places he couldfind; after which he tapped them with his golden rod, and theybecame castles again. He gave two of the castles to the eldestsisters, and kept the other for himself and the youngest, whom hemarried, and there they are living still.

[From Ungarische Mahrchen.]

How The Wicked Tanuki Was Punished

The hunters had hunted the wood for so many years that no wildanimal was any more to be found in it. You might walk from oneend to the other without ever seeing a hare, or a deer, or a boar, orhearing the cooing of the doves in their nest. If they were not dead,they had flown elsewhere. Only three creatures remained alive, andthey had hidden themselves in the thickest part of the forest, highup the mountain. These were a grey-furred, long-tailed tanuki, hiswife the fox, who was one of his own family, and their little son.

The fox and the tanuki were very clever, prudent beasts, and theyalso were skilled in magic, and by this means had escaped the fateof their unfortunate friends. If they heard the twang of an arrow orsaw the glitter of a spear, ever so far off, they lay very still, andwere not to be tempted from their hiding-place, if their hunger wasever so great, or the game ever so delicious. 'We are not so foolishas to risk our lives,' they said to each other proudly. But at lengththere came a day when, in spite of their prudence, they seemedlikely to die of starvation, for no more food was to be had. Something had to be done, but they did not know what.

Suddenly a bright thought struck the tanuki. 'I have got a plan,' hecried joyfully to his wife. 'I will pretend to be dead, and you mustchange yourself into a man, and take me to the village for sale. Itwill be easy to find a buyer, tanukis' skins are always wanted; thenbuy some food with the money and come home again. I willmanage to escape somehow, so do not worry about me.'

The fox laughed with delight, and rubbed her paws together withsatisfaction. 'Well, next time I will go,' she said, 'and you can sellme.' And then she changed herself into a man, and picking up thestiff body of the tanuki, set off towards the village. She found himrather heavy, but it would never have done to let him walk throughthe wood and risk his being seen by somebody.

As the tanaki had foretold, buyers were many, and the fox handedhim over to the person who offered the largest price, and hurried toget some food with the money. The buyer took the tanuki back tohis house, and throwing him into a corner went out. Directly thetanaki found he was alone, he crept cautiously through a chink ofthe window, thinking, as he did so, how lucky it was that he wasnot a fox, and was able to climb. Once outside, he hid himself in aditch till it grew dusk, and then galloped away into the forest.

While the food lasted they were all three as happy as kings; butthere soon arrived a day when the larder was as empty as ever. 'Itis my turn now to pretend to be dead,' cried the fox. So the tanukichanged himself into a peasant, and started for the village, with hiswife's body hanging over his shoulder. A buyer was not long incoming forward, and while they were making the bargain a wickedthought darted into the tanuki's head, that if he got rid of the foxthere would be more food for him and his son. So as he put themoney in his pocket he whispered softly to the buyer that the foxwas not really dead, and that if he did not take care she might runaway from him. The man did not need twice telling. He gave thepoor fox a blow on the head, which put an end to her, and thewicked tanuki went smiling to the nearest shop.

In former times he had been very fond of his little son; but since hehad betrayed his wife he seemed to have changed all in a moment,for he would not give him as much as a bite, and the poor littlefellow would have starved had he not found some nuts and berriesto eat, and he waited on, always hoping that his mother wouldcome back.

At length some notion of the truth began to dawn on him; but hewas careful to let the old tanuki see nothing, though in his ownmind he turned over plans from morning till night, wondering howbest he might avenge his mother.

One morning, as the little tanuki was sitting with his father, heremembered, with a start, that his mother had taught him all sheknew of magic, and that he could work spells as well as his father,or perhaps better. 'I am as good a wizard as you,' he said suddenly,and a cold chill ran through the tanuki as he heard him, though helaughed, and pretended to think it a joke. But the little tanaki stuckto his point, and at last the father proposed they should have awager.

'Change yourself into any shape you like,' said he, 'and I willundertake to know you. I will go and wait on the bridge whichleads over the river to the village, and you shall transform yourselfinto anything you please, but I will know you through any disguise.' The little tanuki agreed, and went down the road which his fatherhad pointed out. But instead of transforming himself into adifferent shape, he just hid himself in a corner of the bridge, wherehe could see without being seen.

He had not been there long when his father arrived and took up hisplace near the middle of the bridge, and soon after the king cameby, followed by a troop of guards and all his court.

'Ah! he thinks that now he has changed himself into a king I shallnot know him,' thought the old tanuki, and as the king passed in hissplendid carriage, borne by his servants, he jumped upon it crying: 'Ihave won my wager; you cannot deceive me.' But in reality it washe who had deceived himself. The soldiers, conceiving that theirking was being attacked, seized the tanuki by the legs and flung himover into the river, and the water closed over him.

And the little tanoki saw it all, and rejoiced that his mother's deathhad been avenged. Then he went back to the forest, and if he hasnot found it too lonely, he is probably living there still.

[From Japanische Mahrchen.]

The Crab And The Monkey

There was once a crab who lived in a hole on the shady side of amountain. She was a very good housewife, and so careful andindustrious that there was no creature in the whole country whosehole was so neat and clean as hers, and she took great pride in it.

One day she saw lying near the mouth of her hole a handful ofcooked rice which some pilgrim must have let fall when he wasstopping to eat his dinner. Delighted at this discovery, she hastenedto the spot, and was carrying the rice back to her hole when amonkey, who lived in some trees near by, came down to see whatthe crab was doing. His eyes shone at the sight of the rice, for itwas his favourite food, and like the sly fellow he was, he proposeda bargain to the crab. She was to give him half the rice in exchangefor the kernel of a sweet red kaki fruit which he had just eaten. Hehalf expected that the crab would laugh in his face at this impudentproposal, but instead of doing so she only looked at him for amoment with her head on one side and then said that she wouldagree to the exchange. So the monkey went off with his rice, andthe crab returned to her hole with the kernel.

For some time the crab saw no more of the monkey, who had goneto pay a visit on the sunny side of the mountain; but one morning hehappened to pass by her hole, and found her sitting under theshadow of a beautiful kaki tree.

'Good day,' he said politely, 'you have some very fine fruit there! Iam very hungry, could you spare me one or two?'

'Oh, certainly,' replied the crab, 'but you must forgive me if I cannotget them for you myself. I am no tree-climber.'

'Pray do not apologise,' answered the monkey. 'Now that I haveyour permission I can get them myself quite easily.' And the crabconsented to let him go up, merely saying that he must throw herdown half the fruit.

In another moment he was swinging himself from branch to branch,eating all the ripest kakis and filling his pockets with the rest, andthe poor crab saw to her disgust that the few he threw down to herwere either not ripe at all or else quite rotten.

'You are a shocking rogue,' she called in a rage; but the monkeytook no notice, and went on eating as fast as he could. The crabunderstood that it was no use her scolding, so she resolved to trywhat cunning would do.

'Sir Monkey,' she said, ' you are certainly a very good climber, butnow that you have eaten so much, I am quite sure you would neverbe able to turn one of your somersaults.' The monkey pridedhimself on turning better somersaults than any of his family, so heinstantly went head over heels three times on the bough on whichhe was sitting, and all the beautiful kakis that he had in his pocketsrolled to the ground. Quick as lightning the crab picked them upand carried a quantity of them into her house, but when she cameup for another the monkey sprang on her, and treated her so badlythat he left her for dead. When he had beaten her till his arm achedhe went his way.

It was a lucky thing for the poor crab that she had some friends tocome to her help or she certainly would have died then and there. The wasp flew to her, and took her back to bed and looked afterher, and then he consulted with a rice-mortar and an egg which hadfallen out of a nest near by, and they agreed that when the monkeyreturned, as he was sure to do, to steal the rest of the fruit, thatthey would punish him severely for the manner in which he hadbehaved to the crab. So the mortar climbed up to the beam overthe front door, and the egg lay quite still on the ground, while thewasp set down the water-bucket in a corner. Then the crab dugitself a deep hole in the ground, so that not even the tip of her clawsmight be seen.

Soon after everything was ready the monkey jumped down from histree, and creeping to the door began a long hypocritical speech,asking pardon for all he had done. He waited for an answer ofsome sort, but none came. He listened, but all was still; then hepeeped, and saw no one; then he went in. He peered about for thecrab, but in vain; however, his eyes fell on the egg, which hesnatched up and set on the fire. But in a moment the egg had burstinto a thousand pieces, and its sharp shell struck him in the face andscratched him horribly. Smarting with pain he ran to the bucket andstooped down to throw some water over his head. As he stretchedout his hand up started the wasp and stung him on the nose. Themonkey shrieked and ran to the door, but as he passed throughdown fell the mortar and struck him dead. 'After that the crab livedhappily for many years, and at length died in peace under her ownkaki tree.

[From Japanische Mahrchen.]

The Horse Gullfaxi And The Sword Gunnfoder

Many many years ago there lived a king and queen who had oneonly son, called Sigurd. When the little boy was only ten years oldthe queen, his mother, fell ill and died, and the king, who loved herdearly, built a splendid monument to his wife's memory, and dayafter day he sat by it and bewailed his sad loss.

One morning, as he sat by the grave, he noticed a richly dressedlady close to him. He asked her name and she answered that it wasIngiborg, and seemed surprised to see the king there all alone. Then he told her how he had lost his queen, and how he came dailyto weep at her grave. In return, the lady informed him that she hadlately lost her husband, and suggested that they might both find it acomfort if they made friends.

This pleased the king so much that he invited her to his palace,where they saw each other often; and after a time he married her.

After the wedding was over he soon regained his good spirits, andused to ride out hunting as in old days; but Sigurd, who was veryfond of his stepmother, always stayed at home with her.

One evening Ingiborg said to Sigurd: 'To-morrow your father isgoing out hunting, and you must go with him.' But Sigurd said hewould much rather stay at home, and the next day when the kingrode off Sigurd refused to accompany him. The stepmother wasvery angry, but he would not listen, and at last she assured him thathe would be sorry for his disobedience, and that in future he hadbetter do as he was told.

After the hunting party had started she hid Sigurd under her bed,and bade him be sure to lie there till she called him.

Sigurd lay very still for a long while, and was just thinking it was nogood staying there any more, when he felt the floor shake underhim as if there were an earthquake, and peeping out he saw a greatgiantess wading along ankle deep through the ground andploughing it up as she walked.

'Good morning, Sister Ingiborg,' cried she as she entered the room,'is Prince Sigurd at home?'

'No,' said Ingiborg; 'he rode off to the forest with his father thismorning.' And she laid the table for her sister and set food beforeher. After they had both done eating the giantess said: 'Thank you,sister, for your good dinner--the best lamb, the best can of beer andthe best drink I have ever had; but--is not Prince Sigurd at home?'

Ingiborg again said 'No'; and the giantess took leave of her andwent away. When she was quite out of sight Ingiborg told Sigurdto come out of his hiding-place.

The king returned home at night, but his wife told him nothing ofwhat had happened, and the next morning she again begged theprince to go out hunting with his father. Sigurd, however, repliedas before, that he would much rather stay at home.

So once more the king rode off alone. This time Ingiborg hidSigurd under the table, and scolded him well for not doing as shebade him. For some time he lay quite still, and then suddenly thefloor began to shake, and a giantess came along wading half way toher knees through the ground.

As she entered the house she asked, as the first one had done: 'Well,Sister Ingiborg, is Prince Sigurd at home?'

'No,' answered Ingiborg,' he rode off hunting with his father thismorning'; and going to the cupboard she laid the table for her sister. When they had finished their meal the giantess rose and said: 'Thankyou for all these nice dishes, and for the best lamb, the best can ofbeer and the nicest drink I have ever had; but--is Prince Sigurd reallynot at home?'

'No, certainly not!' replied Ingiborg; and with that they took leaveof each other.

When she was well out of sight Sigurd crept from under the table,and his stepmother declared that it was most important that heshould not stay at home next day; but he said he did not see whatharm could come of it, and he did not mean to go out hunting, andthe next morning, when the king prepared to start, Ingiborgimplored Sigurd to accompany his father. But it was all no use, hewas quite obstinate and would not listen to a word she said. 'Youwill have to hide me again,' said he, so no sooner had the king gonethan Ingiborg hid Sigurd between the wall and the panelling, andby-and-by there was heard once more a sound like an earthquake,as a great giantess, wading knee deep through the ground, came inat the door.

'Good day, Sister Ingiborg!' she cried, in a voice like thunder; 'isPrince Sigurd at home?'

'Oh, no,' answered Ingiborg, 'he is enjoying himself out there in theforest. I expect it will be quite dark before he comes back again.'

'That's a lie!' shouted the giantess. And they squabbled about it tillthey were tired, after which Ingiborg laid the table; and when thegiantess had done eating she said: 'Well, I must thank you for allthese good things, and for the best lamb, the best can of beer andthe best drink I have had for a long time; but--are you quite surePrince Sigurd is not at home?'

'Quite,' said Ingiborg. 'I've told you already that he rode off withhis father this morning to hunt in the forest.'

At this the giantess roared out with a terrible voice: 'If he is nearenough to hear my words, I lay this spell on him: Let him be halfscorched and half withered; and may he have neither rest nor peacetill he finds me.' And with these words she stalked off.

For a moment Ingiborg stood as if turned to stone, then she fetchedSigurd from his hiding-place, and, to her horror, there he was, halfscorched and half withered.

'Now you see what has happened through your own obstinacy,' saidshe; 'but we must lose no time, for your father will soon be cominghome.'

Going quickly into the next room she opened a chest and took out aball of string and three gold rings, and gave them to Sigurd, saying:'If you throw this ball on the ground it will roll along till it reachessome high cliffs. There you will see a giantess looking out over therocks. She will call down to you and say: "Ah, this is just what Iwanted! Here is Prince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night";but don't be frightened by her. She will draw you up with a longboat-hook, and you must greet her from me, and give her thesmallest ring as a present. This will please her, and she will ask youto wrestle with her. When you are exhausted, she will offer you ahorn to drink out of, and though she does not know it, the wine willmake you so strong that you will easily be able to conquer her. After that she will let you stay there all night. The same thing willhappen with my two other sisters. But, above all, remember this:should my little dog come to you and lay his paws on you, withtears running down his face, then hurry home, for my life will be indanger. Now, good-bye, and don't forget your stepmother.'

Then Ingiborg dropped the ball on the ground, and Sigurd bade herfarewell.

That same evening the ball stopped rolling at the foot of some highrocks, and on glancing up, Sigurd saw the giantess looking out atthe top.

'Ah, just what I wanted!' she cried out when she saw him; 'here isPrince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night. Come up, myfriend, and wrestle with me.'

With these words she reached out a long boat hook and hauled himup the cliff. At first Sigurd was rather frightened, but heremembered what Ingiborg had said, and gave the giantess hersister's message and the ring.

The giantess was delighted, and challenged him to wrestle with her. Sigurd was fond of all games, and began to wrestle with joy; but hewas no match for the giantess, and as she noticed that he wasgetting faint she gave him a horn to drink out of, which was veryfoolish on her part, as it made Sigurd so strong that he soonoverthrew her.

'You may stay here to-night,' said she; and he was glad of the rest.

Next morning Sigurd threw down the ball again and away it rolledfor some time, till it stopped at the foot of another high rock. Thenhe looked up and saw another giantess, even bigger and uglier thanthe first one, who called out to him: 'Ah, this is just what I wanted!Here is Prince Sigurd. He shall go into the pot to-night. Come upquickly and wrestle with me.' And she lost no time in hauling himup.

The prince gave her his stepmother's message and the secondlargest ring. The giantess was greatly pleased when she saw thering, and at once challenged Sigurd to wrestle with her.

They struggled for a long time, till at last Sigurd grew faint; so shehanded him a horn to drink from, and when he had drunk hebecame so strong that he threw her down with one hand.

On the third morning Sigurd once more laid down his ball, and itrolled far away, till at last it stopped under a very high rock indeed,over the top of which the most hideous giantess that ever was seenlooked down.

When she saw who was there she cried out: 'Ah, this is just what Iwanted! Here comes Prince Sigurd. Into the pot he goes this verynight. Come up here, my friend, and wrestle with me.' And shehauled him up just as her sisters had done.

Sigurd then gave her his stepmother's message and the last andlargest ring. The sight of the red gold delighted the giantess, andshe challenged Sigurd to a wrestling match. This time the fight wasfierce and long, but when at length Sigurd's strength was failing thegiantess gave him something to drink, and after he had drunk it hesoon brought her to her knees. 'You have beaten me,' she gasped,so now, listen to me. 'Not far from here is a lake. Go there; youwill find a little girl playing with a boat. Try to make friends withher, and give her this little gold ring. You are stronger than everyou were, and I wish you good luck.'

With these words they took leave of each other, and Sigurdwandered on till he reached the lake, where he found the little girlplaying with a boat, just as he had been told. He went up to herand asked what her name was.

She was called Helga, she answered, and she lived near by.

So Sigurd gave her the little gold ring, and proposed that theyshould have a game. The little girl was delighted, for she had nobrothers or sisters, and they played together all the rest of the day.

When evening came Sigurd asked leave to go home with her, butHelga at first forbade him, as no stranger had ever managed toenter their house without being found out by her father, who was avery fierce giant.

However, Sigurd persisted, and at length she gave way; but whenthey came near the door she held her glove over him and Sigurdwas at once transformed into a bundle of wool. Helga tucked thebundle under her arm and threw it on the bed in her room.

Almost at the same moment her father rushed in and hunted roundin every corner, crying out: 'This place smells of men. What's thatyou threw on the bed, Helga?'

'A bundle of wool,' said she.

'Oh, well, perhaps it was that I smelt,' said the old man, andtroubled himself no more.

The following day Helga went out to play and took the bundle ofwool with her under her arm. When she reached the lake she heldher glove over it again and Sigurd resumed his own shape.

They played the whole day, and Sigurd taught Helga all sorts ofgames she had never even heard of. As they walked home in theevening she said: 'We shall be able to play better still to-morrow,for my father will have to go to the town, so we can stay at home.'

When they were near the house Helga again held her glove overSigurd, and once more he was turned into a bundle of wool, andshe carried him in without his being seen.

Very early next morning Helga's father went to the town, and assoon as he was well out of the way the girl held up her glove andSigurd was himself again. Then she took him all over the house toamuse him, and opened every room, for her father had given her thekeys before he left; but when they came to the last room Sigurdnoticed one key on the bunch which had not been used and askedwhich room it belonged to.'

Helga grew red and did not answer.

'I suppose you don't mind my seeing the room which it opens?'asked Sigurd, and as he spoke he saw a heavy iron door and beggedHelga to unlock it for him. But she told him she dared not do so, atleast if she did open the door it must only be a very tiny chink; andSigurd declared that would do quite well.

The door was so heavy, that it took Helga some time to open it,and Sigurd grew so impatient that he pushed it wide open andwalked in. There he saw a splendid horse, all ready saddled, andjust above it hung a richly ornamented sword on the handle ofwhich was engraved these words: 'He who rides this horse andwears this sword will find happiness.'

At the sight of the horse Sigurd was so filled with wonder that hewas not able to speak, but at last he gasped out: 'Oh, do let memount him and ride him round the house! Just once; I promise notto ask any more.'

'Ride him round the house! ' cried Helga, growing pale at the mereidea. 'Ride Gullfaxi! Why father would never, never forgive me, if Ilet you do that.'

'But it can't do him any harm,' argued Sigurd; 'you don't know howcareful I will be. I have ridden all sorts of horses at home, and havenever fallen off not once. Oh, Helga, do!'

'Well, perhaps, if you come back directly,' replied Helga, doubtfully;'but you must be very quick, or father will find out!'

But, instead of mounting Gullfaxi, as she expected, Sigurd stoodstill.

'And the sword,' he said, looking fondly up to the place where ithung. 'My father is a king, but he has not got any sword sobeautiful as that. Why, the jewels in the scabbard are more splendidthan the big ruby in his crown! Has it got a name? Some swordshave, you know.'

'It is called "Gunnfjoder," the "Battle Plume,"' answered Helga, 'and"Gullfaxi" means "Golden Mane." I don't suppose, if you are to geton the horse at all, it would matter your taking the sword too. Andif you take the sword you will have to carry the stick and the stoneand the twig as well.'

'They are easily carried,' said Sigurd, gazing at them with scorn;'what wretched dried-up things! Why in the world do you keepthem?'

'Bather says that he would rather lose Gullfaxi than lose them,'replied Helga, 'for if the man who rides the horse is pursued he hasonly to throw the twig behind him and it will turn into a forest, sothick that even a bird could hardly fly through. But if his enemyhappens to know magic, and can throw down the forest, the manhas only to strike the stone with the stick, and hailstones as large aspigeons' eggs will rain down from the sky and will kill every one fortwenty miles round.'

Having said all this she allowed Sigurd to ride 'just once' round thehouse, taking the sword and other things with him. But when hehad ridden round, instead of dismounting, he suddenly turned thehorse's head and galloped away.

Soon after this Helga's father came home and found his daughter intears. He asked what was the matter, and when he heard all thathad happened, he rushed off as fast as he could to pursue Sigurd.

Now, as Sigurd happened to look behind him he saw the giantcoming after him with great strides, and in all haste he threw thetwig behind him. Immediately such a thick wood sprang up at oncebetween him and his enemy that the giant was obliged to run homefor an axe with which to cut his way through.

The next time Sigurd glanced round, the giant was so near that healmost touched Gullfaxi's tail. In an agony of fear Sigurd turnedquickly in his saddle and hit the stone with the stick. No soonerhad he done this than a terrible hailstorm burst behind, and the giantwas killed on the spot.

But had Sigurd struck the stone without turning round, the hailwould have driven right into his face and killed him instead.

After the giant was dead Sigurd rode on towards his own home,and on the way he suddenly met his stepmother's little dog, runningto meet him, with tears pouring down its face. He galloped on ashard as he could, and on arriving found nine men-servants in the actof tying Queen Ingiborg to a post in the courtyard of the palace,where they intended to burn her.

Wild with anger Prince Sigurd sprang from his horse and, sword inhand, fell on the men and killed them all. Then he released hisstepmother, and went in with her to see his father.

The king lay in bed sick with sorrow, and neither eating nordrinking, for he thought that his son had been killed by the queen. He could hardly believe his own eyes for joy when he saw theprince, and Sigurd told him all his adventures.

After that Prince Sigurd rode back to fetch Helga, and a great feastwas made which lasted three days; and every one said no bride wasever seen so beautiful as Helga, and they lived happily for many,many years, and everybody loved them.

[From Islandische Mahrchen.]

The Story Of The Sham Prince, Or The Ambitious Tailor

Once upon a time there lived a respectable young tailor calledLabakan, who worked for a clever master in Alexandria. No onecould call Labakan either stupid or lazy, for he could workextremely well and quickly--when he chose; but there wassomething not altogether right about him. Sometimes he wouldstitch away as fast as if he had a red-hot needle and a burningthread, and at other times he would sit lost in thought, and withsuch a queer look about him that his fellow-workmen used to say,'Labakan has got on his aristocratic face today.'

On Fridays he would put on his fine robe which he had bought withthe money he had managed to save up, and go to the mosque. Ashe came back, after prayers, if he met any friend who said'Good-day,' or 'How are you, friend Labakan?' he would wave hishand graciously or nod in a condescending way; and if his masterhappened to say to him, as he sometimes did, 'Really, Labakan, youlook like a prince,' he was delighted, and would answer, 'Have younoticed it too?' or 'Well, so I have long thought.'

Things went on like this for some time, and the master put up withLabakan's absurdities because he was, on the whole, a good fellowand a clever workman.

One day, the sultan's brother happened to be passing throughAlexandria, and wanted to have one of his state robes altered, so hesent for the master tailor, who handed the robe over to Labakan ashis best workman.

In the evening, when every one had left the workshop and gonehome, a great longing drove Labakan back to the place where theroyal robe hung. He stood a long time gazing at it, admiring therich material and the splendid embroidery in it. At last he couldhold out no longer. He felt he must try it on, and lo! and behold, itfitted as though it had been made for him.

'Am not I as good a prince as any other?' he asked himself, as heproudly paced up and down the room. 'Has not the master oftensaid that I seemed born to be a prince?'

It seemed to him that he must be the son of some unknownmonarch, and at last he determined to set out at once and travel insearch of his proper rank.

He felt as if the splendid robe had been sent him by some kind fairy,and he took care not to neglect such a precious gift. He collectedall his savings, and, concealed by the darkness of the night, hepassed through the gates of Alexandria.

The new prince excited a good deal of curiosity where ever hewent, for his splendid robe and majestic manner did not seem quitesuitable to a person travelling on foot. If anyone asked questions,he only replied with an important air of mystery that he had his ownreasons for not riding.

However, he soon found out that walking made him ridiculous, soat last he bought a quiet, steady old horse, which he managed to getcheap.

One day, as he was ambling along upon Murva (that was the horse'sname), a horseman overtook him and asked leave to join him, sothat they might both beguile the journey with pleasant talk. Thenewcomer was a bright, cheerful, good-looking young man, whosoon plunged into conversation and asked many questions. He toldLabakan that his own name was Omar, that he was a nephew of ElfiBey, and was travelling in order to carry out a command given himby his uncle on his death bed. Labakan was not quite so open in hisconfidences, but hinted that he too was of noble birth and wastravelling for pleasure.

The two young men took a fancy to each other and rode ontogether. On the second day of their journey Labakan questionedOmar as to the orders he had to carry out, and to his surprise heardthis tale.

Elfi Bey, Pacha of Cairo, had brought up Omar from his earliestchildhood, and the boy had never known his parents. On hisdeathbed Elfi Bey called Omar to him, and then told him that hewas not his nephew, but the son of a great king, who, having beenwarned of coming dangers by his astrologers, had sent the youngprince away and made a vow not to see him till his twenty-secondbirthday.

Elfi Bey did not tell Omar his father's name, but expressly desiredhim to be at a great pillar four days' journey east of Alexandria onthe fourth day of the coming month, on which day he would betwenty-two years old. Here he would meet some men, to whom hewas to hand a dagger which Elfi Bey gave him, and to say 'Here amI for whom you seek.'

If they answered: 'Praised be the Prophet who has preserved you,'he was to follow them, and they would take him to his father.

Labakan was greatly surprised and interested by this story, but afterhearing it he could not help looking on Prince Omar with enviouseyes, angry that his friend should have the position he himselflonged so much for. He began to make comparisons between theprince and himself, and was obliged to confess that he was afine-looking young man with very good manners and a pleasantexpression.

At the same time, he felt sure that had he been in the prince's placeany royal father might have been glad to own him.

These thoughts haunted him all day, and he dreamt them all night. He woke very early, and as he saw Omar sleeping quietly, with ahappy smile on his face, a wish arose in his mind to take by force orby cunning the things which an unkind fate had denied him.

The dagger which was to act as a passport was sticking in Omar'sgirdle. Labakan drew it gently out, and hesitated for a momentwhether or not to plunge it into the heart of the sleeping prince. However, he shrank from the idea of murder, so he contentedhimself with placing the dagger in his own belt, and, saddlingOmar's swift horse for himself, was many miles away before theprince woke up to realise his losses.

For two days Labakan rode on steadily, fearing lest, after all, Omarmight reach the meeting place before him. At the end of the secondday he saw the great pillar at a distance. It stood on a little hill inthe middle of a plain, and could be seen a very long way off. Labakan's heart beat fast at the sight. Though he had had sometime in which to think over the part he meant to play his consciencemade him rather uneasy. However, the thought that he mustcertainly have been born to be a king supported him, and he bravelyrode on.

The neighbourhood was quite bare and desert, and it was a goodthing that the new prince had brought food for some time with him,as two days were still wanting till the appointed time.

Towards the middle of the next day he saw a long procession ofhorses and camels coming towards him. It halted at the bottom ofthe hill, and some splendid tents were pitched. Everything lookedlike the escort of some great man. Labakan made a shrewd guessthat all these people had come here on his account; but he checkedhis impatience, knowing that only on the fourth day could hiswishes be fulfilled.

The first rays of the rising sun woke the happy tailor. As he beganto saddle his horse and prepare to ride to the pillar, he could nothelp having some remorseful thoughts of the trick he had playedand the blighted hopes of the real prince. But the die was cast, andhis vanity whispered that he was as fine looking a young man as theproudest king might wish his son to be, and that, moreover, whathad happened had happened.

With these thoughts he summoned up all his courage sprang on hishorse, and in less than a quarter of an hour was at the foot of thehill. Here he dismounted, tied the horse to a bush, and, drawing outPrince Omar's dagger climbed up the hill.

At the foot of the pillar stood six men round a tall and statelyperson. His superb robe of cloth of gold was girt round him by awhite cashmere shawl, and his white, richly jewelled turban showedthat he was a man of wealth and high rank.

Labakan went straight up to him, and, bending low, handed him thedagger, saying: 'Here am I whom you seek.'

'Praised be the Prophet who has preserved you! replied the old manwith tears of joy. 'Embrace me, my dear son Omar!'

The proud tailor was deeply moved by these solemn words, andwith mingled shame and joy sank into the old king's arms.

But his happiness was not long unclouded. As he raised his head hesaw a horseman who seemed trying to urge a tired or unwillinghorse across the plain.

Only too soon Labakan recognised his own old horse, Murva, andthe real Prince Omar, but having once told a lie he made up hismind not to own his deceit.

At last the horseman reached the foot of the hill. Here he flunghimself from the saddle and hurried up to the pillar.

'Stop!' he cried, 'whoever you may be, and do not let a disgracefulimpostor take you in. My name is Omar, and let no one attempt torob me of it.'

This turn of affairs threw the standers-by into great surprise. Theold king in particular seemed much moved as he looked from oneface to the other. At last Labakan spoke with forced calmness,'Most gracious lord and father, do not let yourself be deceived bythis man. As far as I know, he is a half-crazy tailor's apprenticefrom Alexandria, called Labakan, who really deserves more pitythan anger.'

These words infuriated the prince. Foaming with rage, he tried topress towards Labakan, but the attendants threw themselves uponhim and held him fast, whilst the king said, 'Truly, my dear son, thepoor fellow is quite mad. Let him be bound and placed on adromedary. Perhaps we may be able to get some help for him.'

The prince's first rage was over, and with tears he cried to the king,'My heart tells me that you are my father, and in my mother's nameI entreat you to hear me.'

'Oh! heaven forbid!' was the reply. 'He is talking nonsense again. How can the poor man have got such notions into his head?'

With these words the king took Labakan's arm to support himdown the hill. They both mounted richly caparisoned horses androde across the plain at the head of their followers.

The unlucky prince was tied hand and foot, and fastened on adromedary, a guard riding on either side and keeping a sharplook-out on him.

The old king was Sached, Sultan of the Wachabites. For manyyears he had had no children, but at length the son he had so longwished for was born. But the sooth-sayers and magicians whom heconsulted as to the child's future all said that until he wastwenty-two years old he stood in danger of being injured by anenemy. So, to make all safe, the sultan had confided the prince tohis trusty friend Elfi Bey, and deprived himself of the happiness ofseeing him for twenty-two years. All this the sultan told Labakan,and was much pleased by his appearance and dignified manner.

When they reached their own country they were received withevery sign of joy, for the news of the prince's safe return had spreadlike wildfire, and every town and village was decorated, whilst theinhabitants thronged to greet them with cries of joy andthankfulness. All this filled Labakan's proud heart with rapture,whilst the unfortunate Omar followed in silent rage and despair.

At length they arrived in the capital, where the public rejoicingswere grander and more brilliant than anywhere else. The queenawaited them in the great hall of the palace, surrounded by herentire court. It was getting dark, and hundreds of coloured hanginglamps were lit to turn night into day.

The brightest hung round the throne on which the queen sat, andwhich stood above four steps of pure gold inlaid with greatamethysts. The four greatest nobles in the kingdom held a canopyof crimson silk over the queen, and the Sheik of Medina fanned herwith a peacock-feather fan.

In this state she awaited her husband and her son. She, too, had notseen Omar since his birth, but so many dreams had shown her whathe would look like that she felt she would know him among athousand.

And now the sound of trumpets and drums and of shouts andcheers outside announced the long looked for moment. The doorsflew open, and between rows of lowbending courtiers and servantsthe king approached the throne, leading his pretended son by thehand.

'Here,' said he, 'is he for whom you have been longing so manyyears.'

But the queen interrupted him, 'That is not my son!' she cried. 'That is not the face the Prophet has shown me in my dreams!'

Just as the king was about to reason with her, the door was thrownviolently open, and Prince Omar rushed in, followed by his keepers,whom he had managed to get away from. He flung himself downbefore the throne, panting out, 'Here will I die; kill me at once,cruel father, for I cannot bear this shame any longer.'

Everyone pressed round the unhappy man, and the guards wereabout to seize him, when the queen, who at first was dumb withsurprise, sprang up from her throne.

'Hold!' cried she. 'This and no other is the right one; this is the onewhom my eyes have never yet seen, but whom my heart recognises.'

The guards had stepped back, but the king called to them in afurious voice to secure the madman.

'It is I who must judge,' he said in tones of command; 'and thismatter cannot be decided by women's dreams, but by certainunmistakable signs. This one' (pointing to Labakan) 'is my son, forit was he who brought me the token from my friend Elfi--thedagger.'

But the king would not listen to his son's voice, for he had alwaysbeen accustomed to depend on his own judgment. He let theunhappy Omar be dragged from the hall, whilst he himself retiredwith Labakan to his own rooms, full of anger with the queen hiswife, in spite of their many years of happy life together.

The queen, on her side, was plunged in grief, for she felt certainthat an impostor had won her husband's heart and taken the place ofher real son.

When the first shock was over she began to think how she couldmanage to convince the king of his mistake. Of course it would bea difficult matter, as the man who declared he was Omar hadproduced the dagger as a token, besides talking of all sorts of thingswhich happened when he was a child. She called her oldest andwisest ladies about her and asked their advice, but none of them hadany to give. At last one very clever old woman said: 'Did not theyoung man who brought the dagger call him whom your majestybelieves to be your son Labakan, and say he was a crazy tailor? '

'Yes,' replied the queen; 'but what of that?'

'Might it not be,' said the old lady, 'that the impostor has called yourreal son by his own name? If this should be the case, I know of acapital way to find out the truth.'

And she whispered some words to the queen, who seemed muchpleased, and went off at once to see the king.

Now the queen was a very wise woman, so she pretended to thinkshe might have made a mistake, and only begged to be allowed toput a test to the two young men to prove which was the real prince.

The king, who was feeling much ashamed of the rage he had beenin with his dear wife, consented at once, and she said: 'No doubtothers would make them ride or shoot, or something of that sort,but every one learns these things. I wish to set them a task whichrequires sharp wits and clever hands, and I want them to try whichof them can best make a kaftan and pair of trousers.'

The king laughed. 'No, no, that will never do. Do you suppose myson would compete with that crazy tailor as to which could makethe best clothes? Oh, dear, no, that won't do at all.'

But the queen claimed his promise, and as he was a man of hisword the king gave in at last. He went to his son and begged thathe would humour his mother, who had set her heart on his making akaftan.

The worthy Labakan laughed to himself. 'If that is all she wants,'thought he, 'her majesty will soon be pleased to own me.'

Two rooms were prepared, with pieces of material, scissors,needles and threads, and each young man was shut up in one ofthem.

The king felt rather curious as to what sort of garment his sonwould make, and the queen, too, was very anxious as to the resultof her experiment.

On the third day they sent for the two young men and their work. Labakan came first and spread out his kaftan before the eyes of theastonished king. 'See, father,' he said; 'see, my honoured mother, ifthis is not a masterpiece of work. I'll bet the court tailor himselfcannot do better.

The queen smiled and turned to Omar: 'And what have you done,my son?'

Impatiently he threw the stuff and scissors down on the floor. 'Ihave been taught how to manage a horse, to draw a sword, and tothrow a lance some sixty paces, but I never learnt to sew, and sucha thing would have been thought beneath the notice of the pupil ofElfi Bey, the ruler of Cairo.'

'Ah, true son of your father,' cried the queen; 'if only I mightembrace you and call you son! Forgive me, my lord and husband,'she added, turning to the king, 'for trying to find out the truth in thisway. Do you not see yourself now which is the prince and whichthe tailor? Certainly this kaftan is a very fine one, but I should liketo know what master taught this young man how to make clothes.'

The king sat deep in thought, looking now at his wife and now atLabakan, who was doing his best to hide his vexation at his ownstupidity. At last the king said: 'Even this trial does not satisfy me;but happily I know of a sure way to discover whether or not I havebeen deceived.'

He ordered his swiftest horse to be saddled, mounted, and rode offalone into a forest at some little distance. Here lived a kindly fairycalled Adolzaide, who had often helped the kings of his race withher good advice, and to her he betook himself.

In the middle of the forest was a wide open space surrounded bygreat cedar trees, and this was supposed to be the fairy's favouritespot. When the king reached this place he dismounted, tied hishorse to the tree, and standing in the middle of the open place said:'If it is true that you have helped my ancestors in their time of need,do not despise their descendant, but give me counsel, for that ofmen has failed me.'

He had hardly finished speaking when one of the cedar treesopened, and a veiled figure all dressed in white stepped from it.

'I know your errand, King Sached,' she said; 'it is an honest one, andI will give you my help. Take these two little boxes and let the twomen who claim to be your son choose between them. I know thatthe real prince will make no mistake.'

She then handed him two little boxes made of ivory set with goldand pearls. On the lid of each (which the king vainly tried to open)was an inscription in diamonds. On one stood the words 'Honourand Glory,' and on the other 'Wealth and Happiness.'

'It would be a hard choice,' thought the king as he rode home.

He lost no time in sending for the queen and for all his court, andwhen all were assembled he made a sign, and Labakan was led in. With a proud air he walked up to the throne, and kneeling down,asked:

'What does my lord and father command?'

The king replied: 'My son, doubts have been thrown on your claimto that name. One of these boxes contains the proofs of your birth. Choose for yourself. No doubt you will choose right.'

He then pointed to the ivory boxes, which were placed on two littletables near the throne.

Labakan rose and looked at the boxes. He thought for someminutes, and then said: 'My honoured father, what can be betterthan the happiness of being your son, and what nobler than theriches of your love. I choose the box with the words "Wealth andHappiness."'

'We shall see presently if you have chosen the right one. For thepresent take a seat there beside the Pacha of Medina,' replied theking.

Omar was next led in, looking sad and sorrowful. He threw himselfdown before the throne and asked what was the king's pleasure. The king pointed out the two boxes to him, and he rose and went tothe tables. He carefully read the two mottoes and said: 'The lastfew days have shown me how uncertain is happiness and how easilyriches vanish away. Should I lose a crown by it I make my choiceof "Honour and Glory."'

He laid his hand on the box as he spoke, but the king signed to himto wait, and ordered Labakan to come to the other table and lay hishand on the box he had chosen.

Then the king rose from his throne, and in solemn silence all presentrose too, whilst he said: 'Open the boxes, and may Allah show usthe truth.'

The boxes were opened with the greatest ease. In the one Omarhad chosen lay a little gold crown and sceptre on a velvet cushion. In Labakan's box was found--a large needle with some thread!

The king told the two young men to bring him their boxes. Theydid so. He took the crown in his hand, and as he held it, it grewbigger and bigger, till it was as large as a real crown. He placed iton the head of his son Omar, kissed him on the forehead, andplaced him on his right hand. Then, turning to Labakan, he said:'There is an old proverb, "The cobbler sticks to his last." It seems asthough you were to stick to your needle. You have not deservedany mercy, but I cannot be harsh on this day. I give you your life,but I advise you to leave this country as fast as you can.'

Full of shame, the unlucky tailor could not answer. He flunghimself down before Omar, and with tears in his eyes asked: 'Canyou forgive me, prince?'

'Go in peace,' said Omar as he raised him.

'Oh, my true son!' cried the king as he clasped the prince in hisarms, whilst all the pachas and emirs shouted, 'Long live PrinceOmar!'

In the midst of all the noise and rejoicing Labakan slipped off withhis little box under his arm. He went to the stables, saddled his oldhorse, Murva, and rode out of the gate towards Alexandria. Nothing but the ivory box with its diamond motto was left to showhim that the last few weeks had not been a dream.

When he reached Alexandria he rode up to his old master's door. When he entered the shop, his master came forward to ask whatwas his pleasure, but as soon as he saw who it was he called hisworkmen, and they all fell on Labakan with blows and angry words,till at last he fell, half fainting, on a heap of old clothes.

The master then scolded him soundly about the stolen robe, but invain Labakan told him he had come to pay for it and offered threetimes its price. They only fell to beating him again, and at lastpushed him out of the house more dead than alive.

He could do nothing but remount his horse and ride to an inn. Herehe found a quiet place in which to rest his bruised and batteredlimbs and to think over his many misfortunes. He fell asleep fullydetermined to give up trying to be great, but to lead the life of anhonest workman.

Next morning he set to work to fulfil his good resolutions. He soldhis little box to a jeweller for a good price, bought a house andopened a workshop. Then he hung up a sign with, 'Labakan,Tailor,' over his door, and sat down to mend his own torn clotheswith the very needle which had been in the ivory box.

After a while he was called away, and when he went back to hiswork he found a wonderful thing had happened! The needle wassewing away all by itself and making the neatest little stitches, suchas Labakan had never been able to make even at his best.

Certainly even the smallest gift of a kind fairy is of great value, andthis one had yet another advantage, for the thread never came to anend, however much the needle sewed.

Labakan soon got plenty of customers. He used to cut out theclothes, make the first stitch with the magic needle, and then leaveit to do the rest. Before long the whole town went to him, for hiswork was both so good and so cheap. The only puzzle was how hecould do so much, working all alone, and also why he worked withclosed doors.

And so the promise on the ivory box of 'Wealth and Happiness'came true for him, and when he heard of all the brave doings ofPrince Omar, who was the pride and darling of his people and theterror of his enemies, the ex-prince thought to himself, 'After all, Iam better off as a tailor, for "Honour and Glory" are apt to be verydangerous things.'

The Colony Of Cats

Long, long ago, as far back as the time when animals spoke, therelived a community of cats in a deserted house they had takenpossession of not far from a large town. They had everything theycould possibly desire for their comfort, they were well fed and welllodged, and if by any chance an unlucky mouse was stupid enoughto venture in their way, they caught it, not to eat it, but for the purepleasure of catching it. The old people of the town related howthey had heard their parents speak of a time when the wholecountry was so overrun with rats and mice that there was not somuch as a grain of corn nor an ear of maize to be gathered in thefields; and it might be out of gratitude to the cats who had rid thecountry of these plagues that their descendants were allowed to livein peace. No one knows where they got the money to pay foreverything, nor who paid it, for all this happened so very long ago. But one thing is certain, they were rich enough to keep a servant;for though they lived very happily together, and did not scratch norfight more than human beings would have done, they were notclever enough to do the housework themselves, and preferred at allevents to have some one to cook their meat, which they would havescorned to eat raw. Not only were they very difficult to pleaseabout the housework, but most women quickly tired of living alonewith only cats for companions, consequently they never kept aservant long; and it had become a saying in the town, when anyonefound herself reduced to her last penny: 'I will go and live with thecats,' and so many a poor woman actually did.

Now Lizina was not happy at home, for her mother, who was awidow, was much fonder of her elder daughter; so that often theyounger one fared very badly, and had not enough to eat, while theelder could have everything she desired, and if Lizina dared tocomplain she was certain to have a good beating.

At last the day came when she was at the end of her courage andpatience, and exclaimed to her mother and sister:

'As you hate me so much you will be glad to be rid of me, so I amgoing to live with the cats!'

'Be off with you!' cried her mother, seizing an old broom-handlefrom behind the door. Poor Lizina did not wait to be told twice,but ran off at once and never stopped till she reached the door ofthe cats' house. Their cook had left them that very morning, withher face all scratched, the result of such a quarrel with the head ofthe house that he had very nearly scratched out her eyes. Lizinatherefore was warmly welcomed, and she set to work at once toprepare the dinner, not without many misgivings as to the tastes ofthe cats, and whether she would be able to satisfy them.

Going to and fro about her work, she found herself frequentlyhindered by a constant succession of cats who appeared one afteranother in the kitchen to inspect the new servant; she had one infront of her feet, another perched on the back of her chair while shepeeled the vegetables, a third sat on the table beside her, and five orsix others prowled about among the pots and pans on the shelvesagainst the wall. The air resounded with their purring, which meantthat they were pleased with their new maid, but Lizina had not yetlearned to understand their language, and often she did not knowwhat they wanted her to do. However, as she was a good,kindhearted girl, she set to work to pick up the little kittens whichtumbled about on the floor, she patched up quarrels, and nursed onher lap a big tabby--the oldest of the community--which had a lamepaw. All these kindnesses could hardly fail to make a favourableimpression on the cats, and it was even better after a while, whenshe had had time to grow accustomed to their strange ways. Neverhad the house been kept so clean, the meats so well served, nor thesick cats so well cared for. After a time they had a visit from an oldcat, whom they called their father, who lived by himself in a barn atthe top of the hill, and came down from time to time to inspect thelittle colony. He too was much taken with Lizina, and inquired, onfirst seeing her: 'Are you well served by this nice, black-eyed littleperson?' and the cats answered with one voice: 'Oh, yes, FatherGatto, we have never had so good a servant!'

At each of his visits the answer was always the same; but after atime the old cat, who was very observant, noticed that the littlemaid had grown to look sadder and sadder. 'What is the matter, mychild has any one been unkind to you?' he asked one day, when hefound her crying in her kitchen. She burst into tears and answeredbetween her sobs: 'Oh, no! they are all very good to me; but I longfor news from home, and I pine to see my mother and my sister.'

Old Gatto, being a sensible old cat, understood the little servant'sfeelings. 'You shall go home,' he said, 'and you shall not come backhere unless you please. But first you must be rewarded for all yourkind services to my children. Follow me down into the inner cellar,where you have never yet been, for I always keep it locked andcarry the key away with me.'

Lizina looked round her in astonishment as they went down into thegreat vaulted cellar underneath the kitchen. Before her stood thebig earthenware water jars, one of which contained oil, the other aliquid shining like gold. 'In which of these jars shall I dip you?'asked Father Gatto, with a grin that showed all his sharp whiteteeth, while his moustaches stood out straight on either side of hisface. The little maid looked at the two jars from under her longdark lashes: 'In the oil jar,' she answered timidly, thinking toherself: 'I could not ask to be bathed in gold.'

But Father Gatto replied: 'No, no; you have deserved somethingbetter than that.' And seizing her in his strong paws he plunged herinto the liquid gold. Wonder of wonders! when Lizina came out ofthe jar she shone from head to foot like the sun in the heavens on afine summer's day. Her pretty pink cheeks and long black hairalone kept their natural colour, otherwise she had become like astatue of pure gold. Father Gatto purred loudly with satisfaction. 'Go home,' he said, 'and see your mother and sisters; but take care ifyou hear the cock crow to turn towards it; if on the contrary the assbrays, you must look the other way.'

The little maid, having gratefully kissed the white paw of the oldcat, set off for home; but just as she got near her mother's house thecock crowed, and quickly she turned towards it. Immediately abeautiful golden star appeared on her forehead, crowning her glossyblack hair. At the same time the ass began to bray, but Lizina tookcare not to look over the fence into the field where the donkey wasfeeding. Her mother and sister, who were in front of their house,uttered cries of admiration and astonishment when they saw her,and their cries became still louder when Lizina, taking herhandkerchief from her pocket, drew out also a handful of gold.

For some days the mother and her two daughters lived very happilytogether, for Lizina had given them everything she had broughtaway except her golden clothing, for that would not come off, inspite of all the efforts of her sister, who was madly jealous of hergood fortune. The golden star, too, could not be removed from herforehead. But all the gold pieces she drew from her pockets hadfound their way to her mother and sister.

'I will go now and see what I can get out of the pussies,' saidPeppina, the elder girl, one morning, as she took Lizina's basket andfastened her pockets into her own skirt. 'I should like some of thecats' gold for myself,' she thought, as she left her mother's housebefore the sun rose.

The cat colony had not yet taken another servant, for they knewthey could never get one to replace Lizina, whose loss they had notyet ceased to mourn. When they heard that Peppina was her sister,they all ran to meet her. 'She is not the least like her,' the kittenswhispered among themselves.

No, decidedly she was not at all like Lizina. Even the mostreasonable and large-minded of the cats soon acknowledged that.

The very first day she shut the kitchen door in the face of thetom-cats who used to enjoy watching Lizina at her work, and ayoung and mischievous cat who jumped in by the open kitchenwindow and alighted on the table got such a blow with therolling-pin that he squalled for an hour.

With every day that passed the household became more and moreaware of its misfortune.

The work was as badly done as the servant was surly anddisagreeable; in the corners of the rooms there were collected heapsof dust; spiders' webs hung from the ceilings and in front of thewindow-panes; the beds were hardly ever made, and the featherbeds, so beloved by the old and feeble cats, had never once beenshaken since Lizina left the house. At Father Gatto's next visit hefound the whole colony in a state of uproar.

'Caesar has one paw so badly swollen that it looks as if it werebroken,' said one. 'Peppina kicked him with her great woodenshoes on. Hector has an abscess in his back where a wooden chairwas flung at him; and Agrippina's three little kittens have died ofhunger beside their mother, because Peppina forgot them in theirbasket up in the attic. There is no putting up with the creature--dosend her away, Father Gatto! Lizina herself would not be angrywith us; she must know very well what her sister is like.'

'Come here,' said Father Gatto, in his most severe tones to Peppina. And he took her down into the cellar and showed her the same twogreat jars that he had showed Lizina. 'In which of these shall I dipyou?' he asked; and she made haste to answer: 'In the liquid gold,'for she was no more modest than she was good and kind.

Father Gatto's yellow eyes darted fire. 'You have not deserved it,'he uttered, in a voice like thunder, and seizing her he flung her intothe jar of oil, where she was nearly suffocated. When she came tothe surface screaming and struggling, the vengeful cat seized heragain and rolled her in the ash-heap on the floor; then when sherose, dirty, blinded, and disgusting to behold, he thrust her from thedoor, saying: 'Begone, and when you meet a braying ass be carefulto turn your head towards it.'

Stumbling and raging, Peppina set off for home, thinking herselffortunate to find a stick by the wayside with which to supportherself. She was within sight of her mother's house when she heardin the meadow on the right, the voice of a donkey loudly braying. Quickly she turned her head towards it, and at the same time puther hand up to her forehead, where, waving like a plume, was adonkey's tail. She ran home to her mother at the top of her speed,yelling with rage and despair; and it took Lizina two hours with abig basin of hot water and two cakes of soap to get rid of the layerof ashes with which Father Gatto had adorned her. As for thedonkey's tail, it was impossible to get rid of that; it was as firmlyfixed on her forehead as was the golden star on Lizina's. Theirmother was furious. She first beat Lizina unmercifully with thebroom, then she took her to the mouth of the well and lowered herinto it, leaving her at the bottom weeping and crying for help.

Before this happened, however, the king's son in passing themother's house had seen Lizina sitting sewing in the parlour, andhad been dazzled by her beauty. After coming back two or threetimes, he at last ventured to approach the window and to whisper inthe softest voice: 'Lovely maiden, will you be my bride?' and shehad answered: 'I will.'

Next morning, when the prince arrived to claim his bride, he foundher wrapped in a large white veil. 'It is so that maidens are receivedfrom their parents' hands,' said the mother, who hoped to make theking's son marry Peppina in place of her sister, and had fastened thedonkey's tail round her head like a lock of hair under the veil. Theprince was young and a little timid, so he made no objections, andseated Peppina in the carriage beside him.

Their way led past the old house inhabited by the cats, who were allat the window, for the report had got about that the prince wasgoing to marry the most beautiful maiden in the world, on whoseforehead shone a golden star, and they knew that this could only betheir adored Lizina. As the carriage slowly passed in front of theold house, where cats from all parts of world seemed to be gathereda song burst from every throat:!

Mew, mew, mew! Prince, look quick behind you! In the well is fairLizina, And you've got nothing but Peppina.

When he heard this the coachman, who understood the cat'slanguage better than the prince, his master, stopped his horses andasked:

'Does your highness know what the grimalkins are saying?' and thesong broke forth again louder than ever.

With a turn of his hand the prince threw back the veil, anddiscovered the puffed-up, swollen face of Peppina, with thedonkey's tail twisted round her head. 'Ah, traitress!' he exclaimed,and ordering the horses to be turned round, he drove the elderdaughter, quivering with rage, to the old woman who had sought todeceive him. With his hand on the hilt of his sword he demandedLizina in so terrific a voice that the mother hastened to the well todraw her prisoner out. Lizina's clothing and her star shone sobrilliantly that when the prince led her home to the king, his father,the whole palace was lit up. Next day they were married, and livedhappy ever after; and all the cats, headed by old Father Gatto, werepresent at the wedding.

How To Find Out A True Friend

Once upon a time there lived a king and queen who longed to havea son. As none came, one day they made a vow at the shrine of St. James that if their prayers were granted the boy should set out on apilgrimage as soon as he had passed his eighteenth birthday. Andfancy their delight when one evening the king returned home fromhunting and saw a baby lying in the cradle.

All the people came crowding round to peep at it, and declared itwas the most beautiful baby that ever was seen. Of course that iswhat they always say, but this time it happened to be true. Andevery day the boy grew bigger and stronger till he was twelve yearsold, when the king died, and he was left alone to take care of hismother.

In this way six years passed by, and his eighteenth birthday drewnear. When she thought of this the queen's heart sank within her,for he was the light of her eyes' and how was she to send him forthto the unknown dangers that beset a pilgrim? So day by day shegrew more and more sorrowful, and when she was alone weptbitterly.

Now the queen imagined that no one but herself knew how sad shewas, but one morning her son said to her, 'Mother, why do you crythe whole day long?'

'Nothing, nothing, my son; there is only one thing in the world thattroubles me.'

'What is that one thing?' asked he. 'Are you afraid your property isbadly managed? Let me go and look into the matter.'

This pleased the queen, and he rode off to the plain country, wherehis mother owned great estates; but everything was in beautifulorder, and he returned with a joyful heart, and said, 'Now, mother,you can be happy again, for your lands are better managed thananyone else's I have seen. The cattle are thriving; the fields arethick with corn, and soon they will be ripe for harvest.'

'That is good news indeed,' answered she; but it did not seem tomake any difference to her, and the next morning she was weepingand wailing as loudly as ever.

'Dear mother,' said her son in despair, 'if you will not tell me what isthe cause of all this misery I shall leave home and wander farthrough the world.'

'Ah, my son, my son,' cried the queen, 'it is the thought that I mustpart from you which causes me such grief; for before you were bornwe vowed a vow to St. James that when your eighteenth birthdaywas passed you should make a pilgrimage to his shrine, and verysoon you will be eighteen, and I shall lose you. And for a wholeyear my eyes will never be gladdened by the sight of you, for theshrine is far away.'

'Will it take no longer than that to reach it?' said he. 'Oh, don't beso wretched; it is only dead people who never return. As long as Iam alive you may be sure I will come back to you.'

After this manner he comforted his mother, and on his eighteenthbirthday his best horse was led to the door of the palace, and hetook leave of the queen in these words, 'Dear mother, farewell, andby the help of fate I shall return to you as soon as I can.'

The queen burst into tears and wept sore; then amidst her sobs shedrew three apples from her pocket and held them out, saying, 'Myson, take these apples and give heed unto my words. You will needa companion in the long journey on which you are going. If youcome across a young man who pleases you beg him to accompanyyou, and when you get to an inn invite him to have dinner with you. After you have eaten cut one of these apples in two unequal parts,and ask him to take one. If he takes the larger bit, then part fromhim, for he is no true friend to you. But if he takes the smaller bittreat him as your brother, and share with him all you have.' Thenshe kissed her son once more, and blessed him, and let him go.

The young man rode a long way without meeting a single creature,but at last he saw a youth in the distance about the same age ashimself, and he spurred his horse till he came up with the stranger,who stopped and asked:

'Where are you going, my fine fellow?'

'I am making a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, for before Iwas born my mother vowed that I should go forth with a thankoffering on my eighteenth birthday.'

'That is my case too,' said the stranger, 'and, as we must both travelin the same direction, let us bear each other company.'

The young man agreed to this proposal, but he took care not to geton terms of familiarity with the new comer until he had tried himwith the apple.

By-and-by they reached an inn, and at sight of it the king's son said,'I am very hungry. Let us enter and order something to eat.' Theother consented, and they were soon sitting before a good dinner.

When they had finished the king's son drew an apple from hispocket, and cut it into a big half and a little half, and offered both tothe stranger, who took the biggest bit. 'You are no friend of mine,'thought the king's son, and in order to part company with him hepretended to be ill and declared himself unable to proceed on hisjourney.

'Well, I can't wait for you,' replied the other; 'I am in haste to pushon, so farewell.'

'Farewell,' said the king's son, glad in his heart to get rid of him soeasily. The king's son remained in the inn for some time, so as tolet the young man have a good start; them he ordered his horse androde after him. But he was very sociable and the way seemed longand dull by himself. 'Oh, if I could only meet with a true friend,' hethought, 'so that I should have some one to speak to. I hate beingalone.'

Soon after he came up with a young man, who stopped and askedhim, 'Where are you going, my fine fellow?' The king's sonexplained the object of his journey, and the young man answered, asthe other had done, that he also was fulfilling the vow of his mothermade at his birth.

'Well, we can ride on together,' said the king's son, and the roadseemed much shorter now that he had some one to talk to.

At length they reached an inn, and the king's son exclaimed, 'I amvery hungry; let us go in and get something to eat.'

When they had finished the king's son drew an apple out of hispocket and cut it in two; he held the big bit and the little bit out tohis companion, who took the big bit at once and soon ate it up. 'You are no friend of mine,' thought the king's son, and began todeclare he felt so ill he could not continue his journey. When hehad given the young man a good start he set off himself, but theway seemed even longer and duller than before. 'Oh, if I could onlymeet with a true friend he should be as a brother to me,' he sighedsadly; and as the thought passed through his mind, he noticed ayouth going the same road as himself.

The youth came up to him and said, 'Which way are you going, myfine fellow?' And for the third time the king's son explained allabout his mother's vow. Why, that is just like me,' cried the youth.

'Then let us ride on together,' answered the king's son.

Now the miles seemed to slip by, for the new comer was so livelyand entertaining that the king's son could not help hoping that heindeed might prove to be the true friend.

More quickly than he could have thought possible they reached aninn by the road-side, and turning to his companion the king's sonsaid, 'I am hungry; let us go in and have something to eat.' So theywent in and ordered dinner, and when they had finished the king'sson drew out of his pocket the last apple, and cut it into twounequal parts, and held both out to the stranger. And the strangertook the little piece, and the heart of the king's son was glad withinhim, for at last he had found the friend he had been looking for. 'Good youth,' he cried, 'we will be brothers, and what is mine shallbe thine, and what is thine shall be mine. And together we willpush on to the shrine, and if one of us dies on the road the othershall carry his body there.' And the stranger agreed to all he said,and they rode forward together.

It took them a whole year to reach the shrine, and they passedthrough many different lands on their way. One day they arrivedtired and half-starved in a big city, and said to one another, 'Let usstay here for a little and rest before we set forth again.' So theyhired a small house close to the royal castle, and took up theirabode there.

The following morning the king of the country happened to step onto his balcony, and saw the young men in the garden, and said tohimself, 'Dear me, those are wonderfully handsome youths; but oneis handsomer than the other, and to him will I give my daughter towife;' and indeed the king's son excelled his friend in beauty.

In order to set about his plan the king asked both the young men todinner, and when they arrived at the castle he received them withthe utmost kindness, and sent for his daughter, who was morelovely than both the sun and moon put together. But at bed-timethe king caused the other young man to be given a poisoned drink,which killed him in a few minutes, for he thought to himself, 'If hisfriend dies the other will forget his pilgrimage, and will stay hereand marry my daughter.'

When the king's son awoke the next morning he inquired of theservants where his friend had gone, as he did not see him. 'He diedsuddenly last night,' said they, 'and is to be buried immediately.'

But the king's son sprang up, and cried, 'If my friend is dead I canstay here no longer, and cannot linger an hour in this house.'

So the king, seeing no words would move him, ordered a horse tobe brought round, and the king's son mounted it, and took his deadfriend before him on the saddle, and rode away.

Now the young man was not really dead, but only in a deep sleep.

When the king's son reached the shrine of St. James he got downfrom his horse, took his friend in his arms as if he had been a child,and laid him before the altar. 'St. James,' he said, 'I have fulfilledthe vow my parents made for me. I have come myself to yourshrine, and have brought my friend. I place him in your hands. Restore him to life, I pray, for though he be dead yet has he fulfilledhis vow also.' And, behold! while he yet prayed his friend got upand stood before him as well as ever. And both the young mengave thanks, and set their faces towards home.

When they arrived at the town where the king dwelt they enteredthe small house over against the castle. The news of their comingspread very soon, and the king rejoiced greatly that the handsomeyoung prince had come back again, and commanded great feasts tobe prepared, for in a few days his daughter should marry the king's